The Derby is an awesome place for a photographer to do visual storytelling. It’s a cornucopia of culture, from the decadence of the Infield to the elegance of the Grand Stands. All walks of life can be found at Churchill on the first Saturday in May. Derby is like Prom for adults. Let’s get all dressed up and not remember it tomorrow.

My assignments this year were Hats, the First Turn, and the guy from Flushing, New York, who got to place the $100K Dream Bet. The Dream Bet is horse racing’s version of the people who try to kick a field goal during halftime of the Super Bowl. I decided to go to the Infield for my most of my hat shots, mainly because I hadn’t got to spend much time there the past few years. I’m not EVEN going to post a picture of the Jerk from Flushing. Why? Because he was a jerk! He didn’t win, and he didn’t deserve to win. As a New Yorker, he might have had a chance to win big money at the Kentucky Derby, but he totally missed the concept of what Kentucky is all about. And that is, we are nice people, so please be nice to us in return. Thank you. I was given the task of getting as many horses in my photo of the First Turn as possible, which takes away from the composition, but it’s still a great place be sitting during the race.

The Derby is an all-day-event for me. But my favorite bucket-list moment is when I’m standing on the track at the First Turn, with dirt on my knees, with my hat off, watching 165,000 people sing My Old Kentucky Home.  It doesn’t get any more Kentucky than that!

I don’t really have an explanation for this photo, other than this is one of my all-time favorite from the Infield. I call it “Fabio & Crack of Ass.” Like I said. Culture. Lots of Culture at the Kentucky Derby!

Britain’s William Fox-Pitt dominated the competition once again. I’d like to act all smug, like I know a lot about the sport of Eventing, but I really don’t. As a photojournalist I have to write my own cutlines, so a name like William Fox-Pitt tends to stand out in the brain over time. Besides competing in Rolex Kentucky each year, he’s also a big contender in the World Equestrian Games and the Olympics.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is the only annual four-star Eventing competition in the Western Hemisphere. As pomp and circumstanced as the competition may be, there was one moment of embarrassment Sunday after Fox-Pitt won. The sound booth upstairs seemed to have misplaced Great Britain’s National Anthem. Then for some reason they played half of the German National Anthem, only for the Three-Day champion to politely give it a thumbs down. In my opinion they should have compromised and played My Old Kentucky Home one more time. William Fox-Pitt has competed in Kentucky enough…I’m sure he knows the words. Heck, even his horse, Parklane Hawk, was a thoroughbred, which is a little unusual for Eventing. I’m sure as a thoroughbred, he knew the words.

William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain wins his second consecutive Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, while riding Parklane Hawk.

William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain wins his second consecutive Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, while riding Parklane Hawk.

William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain celebrates after winning his second consecutive Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

Boyd Martin of the United States jumps the final fence on Remington XXV, during the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Mary Dutton, daughter of rider Phillip Dutton, back, takes a few photos during the stadium portion of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Emily Beshear, daughter-in-law of Gov. Steve Beshear, jumps the final fence with Here’s To You, during the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Austria’s Andrew Hoy jumps a fence with Rutehrglen, during the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Riders Jessica Hampf, with her boyfriend Doug Payne, look at video after their rides.

Karen O’Connor of the United States, celebrates after her final ride of the 2012 competition.

Boyd Martin of the United States jumps a fence with Otis Barbotiere.

The United States’ Allison Springer finished second in the Rolex, and won a Land Rover.

A large crowd watches the stadium jumping portion of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Kate Hicks smiles after jumping the final fence with Belmont.

Hansen created drama at the track long before the race, when his caregivers dipped half of his tail in blue dye, representing the team colors. Keeneland officials put a snaffoo on that, and the Hansen group scrambled to uncolor his tail.

In the end, Dullahan came from behind and beat Hansen in the last furlong, with an equally large group of owners.

The Kentucky Derby runs  in a couple of  weeks. I hope that Hansen and Dullahan provide us with another close finish.

Dr. Kendall Hansen, owner of Hansen, the Bluegrass Stakes favorite, looks at his horse in Keeneland’s paddock before the race.

The Hansen Girls, left to right, Laurie Weber, Jill Lockwood, and Brittany Crank, worked the crowd in the paddock, for Hansen, the favorite going into the Bluegrass Stakes.

Hansen warms up in Keeneland’s paddock before the Bluegrass Stakes, while his owner Dr. Kendall Hansen and the Hansen Girls pose for photos.

At the end of the day, it was Dullhallan and Kent Desormeaux, that stole the show by catching Hansen in the last furlong.

Dullahan warms up in Keeneland’s paddock before winning the Bluegrass Stakes.

Members of the Donegal Racing group celebrate in the winners circle after Dullahan beats Hansen to win the Bluegrass Stakes race at Keeneland.

Members of the Donegal Racing group celebrate in the winners circle after Dullahan beats Hansen to win the Bluegrass Stakes race at Keeneland.

Winning jockey Kent Desormeaux walks the media through a replay of the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland after Dullahan beats favorite Hansen.

On a personal note, I’ve been a fan of, and a photographer of The All-A Classic for several years. Two of Louisville’s sluggers last night (sorry, I couldn’t help the pun) played for Owensboro Catholic a few years ago in the All-A Classic Baseball tournament. I photographed Cole Sturgeon and Stewart Ijames in the 2008 All-A Classic championship game.

Here are a few images from last night’s game that I shot for the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Coach Cal and wife Ellen were on hand to watch the Batcats.

Darius has proven me, and any other doubter of his ability, wrong over the past four years. Darius Miller will go down in history as one of only a handful of Kentucky kids to win a Sweet 16 Championship and a National Championship. And he is the only Kentucky kid to be named Mr. Basketball, while winning the other two championships. What Darius did in the state of Kentucky is the stuff that backyard dreams are made of.

Elisha Justice, another Eastern Kentucky kid also has a chance at that feat, with Louisville. But for now, hats off to Kentucky’s Graybeard, who survived the Billy Gillispie era, and gave Cal the much-needed leadership of a senior.

“Hey Kid! Do you like to run? Wanna come play for me at Kentucky?

We brought the kids to Florida to spend Spring Break with their grandparents. My parent’s spend the winter in Bowling Green, Florida, in a little house in an orange grove, east of Tampa and South of Orlando. Their place is always great for relaxing, eating, peeling oranges, and watching good television. We also get to see our long-time friends the Saddlers and the Duke’s. Natalie’s Mom, JW, and Brent, have been enjoying the beach this winter, a little further south near Naples. They then moved up the coast to Tarpon Springs to meet up with us this week.

The temperatures were really nice and the kids got some beach time in at Honeymoon Island. We spent Thursday walking around the old town of Tarpon Springs, and got to eat at our favorite seafood spot, Crabby Bills. Friday, I took Cameron and Brent to see the Yankees play the Braves in Tampa. Later that evening, we went back to the beach at Honeymoon Island one last time before coming back home.

The old looking photos were taken with the Hipstamatic on my iPhone.

Mom and Laura out for a walk

Paw Wayne walking on Kelsey Road

I was relieved to know that our friends in Florida are Florida State fans, as we ate dinner and watched UK whip the Florida Gators in Gainesville.

Laura and Nolan with Baby Duke

Solomon’s Castle near Ona

Cajun Etoufee and beer cans through history, at Linger Lodge in Bradenton

We had some great BBQ at Smokin’ Joe’s

Laura keeps in touch with Facebook

“Spanish Moss Down South…”

Hanging in the grove with Maw and Paw Wayne

Tampa

Nolan silhouetted on the rocks at Honeymoon Island

Natalie and Uncle Brent

Cameron finds the greatest seashell in the history of Webb Family vacations

Tarpon Springs

Sponges of Tarpon Springs

Me, Cameron and Brent watched the Yankees and Braves play Spring Training Baseball

Sunset on Honeymoon Island

Hanging out at the campground with Momaw & Popaw Jubble and Uncle Brent

Other shoots that I did for the magazine included Saint Joseph employee Steve Martin, and how a simple employee screening discovered that he had 90 percent blockage of the blood flow to his right leg.

RJ Croman employee Noel Rush was another example of how a simple health screening alerted him that he had unknowingly had a heart attack. After recognizing it at the Saint Joseph-Jessamine RJ Corman Ambulatory Care Center, Rush was taken to Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington and underwent an angioplasty; two stents were placed in Rush’s heart.

I did a nice group shot with Saint Joseph ER nurse Pat Jarnigan and her co-workers. Jarnigan was a breast cancer survivor who returned to work after surgery only to find her entire unit wearing pink T-shirts emblazoned with “Positive Attitude,” with a breast cancer awareness ribbon on the front and back. Team ER demonstrated her co-workers’ unity and support.

My photography for Common Thread also included a shoot with the Virtual Nurse Coach Program, which is a robot of sorts that allows new graduate registered nurses to receive virtual support and coaching from expert, experienced nurses via texting, voice, and videoconferencing.

Saint Joseph London Executive Chef Terry Crist

Saint Joseph Hospital Executive Chef Pedro Green

Saint Joseph Berea’s Hunter Purdy, with her garden on the Berea campus.

Steve Martin

Pat Jarnigan

Noel Rush

Virtual Nurse Coach Program

Actually, I was just a wanna be, in a fashion sort of way. I really didn’t understand the whole process, all I knew was, all the cool kids were wearing UK National Championship t-shirts and I felt like I needed one too. But in reality, I didn’t know if UK played in the SEC, the FBI, the NAACP, the NFL, or the NBA.

I had no real clue about the situation. Jack Givens and company beat Duke that year for the championship. I didn’t even know who Duke was. The only thing I knew about the Duke Blue Devils came from the playground when we would divide into teams and play basketball. It was always Shirts vs. Skins, UK vs. Duke, and of course, I always got stuck on the Duke Team…which meant I had to take off my shirt. Seriously, I had no clue. I went home one night and told my parents I had to play for the Pukes. My Dad said, “You mean Duke? Yea, Duke, that’s it!!!”

From that season on, I learned my teams and I learned my players. I was a true UK fan! I remember Kyle Macy rubbing his socks during free throws. And I remember the big man in the middle, Sam Bowie. Funny enough, Cameron, my 10-year-old, plays for Model Lab’s 6th Grade team. We played Lexington Sayre a few weeks ago, and there was none other than big Sam Bowie keeping the books for Sayre, and his son playing against my son. NO WAY! It just couldn’t be!?! Time out Ref. Let me call all my family and friends and get them over them over here to see this. But in reality, only a few of us Old People appreciated the moment of having UK Royalty in the building.

I feel very lucky 30 years later to be sitting on the floor at Rupp Arena, photographing UK Basketball. Its a big contrast for the little boy who didn’t understand who the Pukes were in 1978. One of Sam Bowie’s teammates was Melvin Turpin. And tonight I got to witness and photograph UK’s Anthony Davis blocking shot #84 this season, which broke the single season shot blocking record held by Turpin and Andre Riddick.

I have photographed Kentucky Basketball during some trying times and some good times. But my friends, I’m here to tell you, these are great times. We’re 18-1, with a potent defensive and offensive team. People can say what they want, negative or positive, about John Calipari. But the man knows how to coach and he knows how to inspire. I know, because when you sit on the first leg of the W for 20 minutes in the second half, you get to here his inspirational coaching first hand.

Things can go right, and things can go wrong during the NCAA Tournament. But for now, we’re witnessing perfection at it’s best. Soak it in and enjoy it, regardless of  who the team is or what the score is. As they said in the movie Raising Arizona, which is one of my all-time favorite movies…”These are the salad days!”

Here are some images from tonight’s game against Arkansas.

I loved this shot because the Arkansas player looked like he was sorry for even being on the court!

I did a corporate shoot for a trade magazine called Plant Engineering back in the fall. The magazine, based near Chicago, named NACCO Materials Handling Group the top energy maintenance company in the nation. NACCO which is in Berea, employs over 700 people, making a variety of forklifts.

It was a nice surprise when I found the magazine with my cover shot buried in my daughter’s backpack. Turns out that one of the plant manager’s wife works at Laura’s school, and her husband sent it to me. He and his wife were originally from Owsley County, so we had a lot of mutual friends and 56th District stories to share.

I think those of us who live in Madison County take for granted, and don’t always understand, the number of good manufacturing companies that are located here.

Refried Cow Patty

If the Mayan Calendar is right, it won’t be necessary to make my house payment next December. But I don’t believe The Lord intended for the Mayans, or any of the other kooks that have predicted the end of the word, to know when he’s coming back for us. So at this point, I plan to make my house payment on time.

I believe mankind is like a teenager. We’re going through a lot of changes right now that we don’t understand. But I whole-heartedly believe that mankind is only getting started.

However, all of this doomsday talk has got me to thinking. It has me thinking about life and time. No, I didn’t leave an “s” off the word time. I meant to say time rather than times. The times of our lives are what we take from time itself. Kind of sounds like a plug for Days of Our Lives… like sands through the hour glass…

Part of our Christmas to each other was several television shows on DVD. This past week, Natalie and I have been staying up all night, watching shows like Mad Men. There is more drama on these discs than a classroom full of third grade girls.

The history buff in me loves Mad Men, a show that eloquently captures the nuances of the male-dominating world of 1960, in the advertising offices on Madison Avenue, in New York City. It’s humorous at how politically incorrect and polar opposite 1960 was from the time we live in now. I started to say, “the world we live in now,” but it’s more than that. Our world has always been here, it’s really time that changes. And for some unknown mathematical reason, time changes with the decades. Or maybe math has nothing to do it all. Maybe it’s society’s way of keeping track. People love to tell you that they grew up in the 50s, 60s, 70s, or my beloved 80s.

Mad Men shows us things like pregnant women smoking & drinking, kids wearing dry cleaner bags over their heads for fun, and climbing over car seats without seat belts. The Audacity! The show centers on executives chain-smoking and chain-drinking like there is no tomorrow. And the core of the show’s drama is centered on the office relationships between men and women that would be one great big sexual harassment lawsuit today.

I find it funny to watch. However, I don’t blame or look down on the age of my parent’s innocence. It was simply their time. Keep in mind, they were the ones who put a man on the moon without an iPod, and they gave us the foundations of the digital world in which we live today. And they were the ones who eventually passed seatbelt laws, sexual harassment laws, and yes, they even figured out that smoking and drinking too much will kill you.

As I watch Mad Men in the wee hours of the morning, I think about how my grandkids will someday look back on the hay-day of my generation and laugh. And trust me folks, they will look back on us and laugh.

“Texting while driving!?! Seriously Grandpa Tim? Seriously? And think about all those chicken nuggets that you fed my Daddy when he was young. How did you not know that they would cause cancer!”

Don’t you know you could’ve died from doing that? What was your generation thinking? “And how could you all stand using things that had to be plugged into the wall, like your computer and those big telephones. I bet that was a real ball-and-chain! Geez, I would’ve hated living in the olden days like you grandpa!”

“OMG… little granddaughter, I don’t know how we survived it either… LOL! Now it’s your turn.”

Bill was instrumental to me when I first left Eastern and started my own photography business in 2004. He was in charge of the photo desk for a while at the CJ, and it seemed like everyday I was getting a call that began with, “Hey Tim, this is Luster, can you go Harlan County and send us an A1 Center Piece by 6:30…Thanks!” I never knew what to expect when Bill called, but that taught me to always be ready, for anything. He was a great mentor.

Bill catches grief over his height, or I should say, “lack thereof.” But he’s a great guy who takes it all in stride.

Glad to have you on the Freelance side of things Bill. Just keep in mind, there ain’t nothing free about freelance, so take it easy on the rest of us. We still need to work.

Those of us who freelance for the CJ have to put the words “Special To The Courier-Journal” in our photo credit. We told Luster that day at Rupp, that after 40+ years at the paper he could finally be considered Special.

This is a black and white frame that I grabbed a few years ago of Luster in the tunnel between the paddock and the track at Churchill Downs.

Bill heading out to a muddy track during the 2010 Kentucky Derby.

Hiding out behind the Blue Curtain at Rupp Arena. I started to make a Wizard of Oz reference here, but nah!

The Kentucky-Louisville game, Commonwealth Stadium 2011

I loved the shot of the girl squeezing her cheeks while he autographed her CD. She was in seventh heaven.

I did a lot of work this year for East Kentucky Power, work that took me all over Central and Eastern Kentucky. It was some of the best corporate work that I’ve done in a while. I’m going to do a larger blog later, but for now here is my car camped out in the coal yard at Cooper Station on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, back in September. I was using my headlights and interior light to help light the foreground for a shot.

Former Kentucky stars DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall talked to fans before the game.

U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner dons his UK jacket while he does the 3-sign before the game.

Judy may be in wheelchair, caused by a motorcycle accident when she was 15, but she has the spirit of hundred horses. It was because of her love for horses that we chose to do the photo shoot at Keeneland, a place that she truly loves.

After rehab at Cardinal Hill Hospital, she returned to Clay County High School, went on to the University of Kentucky, taking up wheelchair basketball, wheelchair racing and later, wheelchair tennis. After graduating UK in 1982, she moved to Dallas to become a technical writer and then a consultant.

Along the way, she won the 1980 Bluegrass 10K, placed third in the 1987 Tennis U.S. Open and won the 1988 Australian Open. Yep, that’s right, the Australian Open. I think it was even held in Australia.

When it came to wheelchair equipped vehicles, she wanted something that represented her spirit. She always resisted minivans, saying, “They’re just not me. I can’t see spending so much money on something I hate. I’m more of a pickup sort of girl.” She stayed true to her beliefs in transportation, literally aggravating Chevrolet until they built a first of its kind, Chevy SUV Suburban, equipped and fitted for a wheelchair. Forty seconds in and forty seconds out, is all that it takes Judy with the custom-built lift system.

I was looking at her Suburban while I was setting up lights for this shoot, thinking how in the world will she get out the front door. But when she activated it, I saw that the front door and driver side passenger door were welded together, and were part of the lift system.

Judy’s Suburban, in little ole Richmond, Kentucky, was the first of its kind in the United States. She joked in her competitive nature, saying that somebody may have the second one by now, but I had the first wheelchair accessible, modified Chevy Suburban in the country.

After spending an afternoon with Judy, who hasn’t had the use of her legs since she was 15-years-old, it made me less tolerable of people with use of their legs who whine and bitch about how bad their lives are. She’s a great example that your life is what you make of it.

The election was pretty low-key this year in Kentucky. David Williams and Richie Farmer simply didn’t make a race out of it. Last year I had a few assignments to cover the Rand Paul Revolution. At least then there was excitement. People were coming in from other states just to be a part of it. Regardless of what you or I think about the Tea Party, those people had passion for their cause and beliefs.

I did cover one event for Steve Beshear and the Democrats this year. A lot of my photography cohorts hate covering elections, but I like it, mainly because it makes for good feature photography, as a chance to capture a slice of Downtown Americana, on the sidewalks, and in the back corridors of the courthouse. It’s one of  the few times that Americans waive their flag with enthusiasm.

So the next time you find the American election process to be a bore, remember the guy in the photo below. This could be us some day!

It all begins as a trip that many of the veterans aren’t sure they want to make, and usually go, only because their family members talk them into it. But all that changes when they enter the concourse at the Baltimore Washington International Airport. This year, 65 U.S. Naval Academy Cadets formed a receiving line saluting and thanking the vets for their service. At the same time, other travelers in the concourse begin gathering to clap and cheer. Its part planned, part impromptu, and very moving.

When most people think of the soldiers returning home, the iconic image that comes to mind is the Alfred Eisenstaedt photo of the sailor kissing a woman, who was a complete stranger, in Times Square on VJ Day, August 1945. But in reality, most of the veterans came home in 1946, and simply went back to life. So for these Kentucky veterans, the Honor Flight became their long, overdue, Thank You parade!

Unfortunately, we are losing our World War II veterans at a rate of 1,500 per day. Several of the vets on the 2010 trip passed away between October and when the story ran in the May 2011 issue of Kentucky Living. This is what makes it so special to the veterans, and the guardians who go, we all know in an unspoken way that this is the last parade for the men who gave so much.

I said it last year, and I’ll say it again, The Honor Flights have been the most touching stories that I’ve ever worked on as a photographer.

Sen. Bob Dole, a WWII veteran himself, is often on hand to greet veterans at the WWII Memorial.

I’ve tried to photograph the World War II Memorial on seven separate trips to DC. I’ve worked every angle that I can think of, with every lens that I own.
But fittingly enough, just like the war itself, you can not capture it from one single angle. It’s hands down my favorite attraction in Washington.

Forrest Sparrow meets a Dominique Potier from Liege, Belgium. Sparrow was wounded and hospitalized at the Battle of the Bulge in Potier’s hometown of Liege.
Potier couldn’t thank him enough for saving his country and his hometown.
The two men simply met by chance on this day at the WWII memorial!

Oddly enough, the Korean War Memorial tends to evoke a little more emotion than the WWII Memorial.

Chow time!!!

The Rolling Thunder brought the vets back into Baltimore at the end of the day.

On the plane ride back home, the men received “mail call” from school kids all over the state.

Returning to the airport in Louisville, to a reception and parade of over 200 people was the emotional straw that broke the camel’s back.
You would have to have been a robot not to cry!

This is the parade that most of the Kentucky veterans missed out on.
Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt

Willie Nelson will always be an artist who has his own style. I had the opportunity to photograph him a couple of weeks ago at the brand new Center for the Arts on Eastern’s campus. Willie followed another man of style who performed there the week before, BB King.

There were two aspects of Willie’s style that I wanted to capture in photos, his guitar and his hair. At the same time, I wanted capture a sense of place with the new 2,500 capacity Center for the Arts. I’ve seen many, many concerts in my time at Rupp Arena, and heck, I even remember most of them. But the older I get, the more I appreciate a good concert, with a sound mind, in a small venue. One of these days, my dream is to catch Nora Jones at the Ryman in Nashville.

However, there was one part of Willie’s style that deserved questioning. He was The Man from head to ankle, but from the ankles down he was showing signs of his age in ways that his voice did not. He was clad in black, except for his gray New Balance tennis shoes. But that’s the beauty of style, piss on what everyone else does and thinks! Your style belongs to you. It’s a mirror image of your personality. Age creeps up on all us in its own little way. I’ll accept the New Balance shoes if that’s what it takes to get a legend like this on stage. Rock on Willie!!!

I’ll end with this. I’ve never been one to collect autographs from the celebrities that photography allows me to encounter. I’ve always felt my photos were more valuable than a signature. As Willie and his crew were leaving, and had just done a small VIP session in the basement of the Arts Center, he turned and went to shake my hand. When he did, he dropped a blue Sharpie on the floor. I picked it up and handed it to him. He looked me in the eye, as time stood still, as if he was sizing me up. He shook my hand, thanked me and walked out the door to his tour bus.

I can’t sell that moment on Ebay, but knowing that me and his Sharpie were the only things standing between this musical legend and his herbal night cap…. was priceless!

I don’t think this photo does it justice, but when I was up there, and the bucket was swaying back and forth, the little truck that the boom was attached to looked like a Matchbox truck. That didn’t do much for my confidence. From now on, I’ll be sending up a remote camera and staying on the ground.

Okay folks, here is the new John Wall & Brandon Knight. His name is Marcus Teague.

I can say that Nolan has taught me more about being a father than my other two kids. When people see him they say he looks just like me. My reply is that I put all my eggs in one basket. And what they don’t realize is that Nolan on most days is truly reliving my life. He has all my characteristics, both good and bad. I look at pictures of me at his age and we could be twins. He tells me about the struggles of middle school, and I think, “yep, I was right there in 1982, 1983, and 1984.”

Nolan is my first born, he’s my military man, he’s my History Channel Freak, and he’s my hunting buddy. Happy Birthday Nolan!

Nolan has never been short on hair, even from day one.

Well…what’da you know. I used to be skinny. That all changed with kids too.

There’s a slight possibility that he’s flipping the camera off.

Nolan relaxing with a sippie cup, watching Barney, after a long hard day at the baby sitters. Nolan was a Barney fanatic!!!

The Cu l-de-sac Kids:  Riding the Gator with Cameron

His athletic days only lasted a few years, when we figured out he was more of the hunter-gatherer type.

Taking pictures with Daddy

Nolan’s very first day of school

His 5th Grade trip to Washington DC
Nolan wins Model’s science fair, with what else, rifle ballistics

Hitting the waves at Indian Shores, Florida
Mr. Military Man sits in the cockpit of a WWII bomber at air museum in Midland, Texas

Nolan, Laura, Cameron in the Rocky Mountains

Deer Hunting 2009

Disney World 2010

Pouting behind Mommy’s truck 2001
Looking cool at cool at Disney World, 2010

I’m a Kentucky fan through and through, and always will be. But I’m first and foremost a Kentuckian. And in this game, the state of Kentucky never loses.

Rondo comes home!!!!

This photo is a little soft, but the beauty lies in capturing the moment. Pure ecstasy with the coach that used to roll into
Commonwealth Stadium and beat UK with ease when he was a coach with the Florida Gators. He found out last year that
Kentucky-Louisville was an entirely different game.

On the surface, races are held at Keeneland during the prime times of the year, the peak of spring and the peak of autumn. But in reality, Keeneland is a place of elegance that never shuts down 24/7/365. Racing on the track is only part of it. It’s a photographer’s dream to watch the horses go through their early morning workouts, as the sun rises over the grandstand, and warm steam rolls off their backs. Thoroughbred racing at Keeneland is one of the few places in sports where the super stars are close and accessible. Its a place where you can get close and rub elbows with horses, jockeys, owners, trainers, grooms, hot walkers, and exercise riders.

A pageant almost as big as the races themselves lies with the variety of thoroughbred sales that take place between the spring and fall meets. The Keeneland Sales bring together a cornucopia of international spectators and buyers, along with the local celebrity horse farms such as Taylor Made, & Gainesway. These buyers are prepared to drop over a million dollars on a single colt, based solely it’s Mommy and Daddy.

Each year the big question is whether or not Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the world’s leading thoroughbred buyer, will be in attendance. He accounted for more than a quarter of all revenues at a sale last month in New York. When I was there Sunday for the opening night, he wasn’t there, but no one ever knows when his luxury private jet will make surprise landing at Bluegrass Airport.

With or with out Sheikh Mohammad, Keeneland is, and always will be, a central Kentucky jewel. Here a few shots from the opening night of the 2011 Yearling Sales.

These are a few shots that I grabbed after doing a magazine shoot for the November cover of Kentucky Living at Shaker Village Friday Morning, and then brought Rt. 169 cross country back home to Richmond.

I’ve waded it, swam it, drove through it, drank it, fished it, photographed it, and floated most of it in a john boat with some of the purest muskie fishermen in the world.

I’ve been at its headwaters in Morgan County, but only a few times have I been at its mouth in Clark County. I was on an assignment in Trapp this morning and decided to go down and see what I could find with my camera at the point where Red River empties into the Kentucky River.

It was no Cape Cod, but it was quintessential Red River.

Laura and I have decided that Little Miss Magic by Jimmy Buffett is our song. Here are a few lyrics and pictures of my Little Miss Magic over the past 8 years.

Constantly amazed by the blades of the fan on the ceiling
The clever little glances she gives me can’t help but be appealing
She loves to ride into town with the top down
Feel that warm breeze on her gentle skin
She is my next of kin

Chorus:
I see a little more of me everyday
I catch a little more moustache turning gray
Your mother is the only other woman for me
Little miss magic, what you gonna be?

Sometimes I catch her dreamin and wonder where that little mind meanders
Is she strollin along the shore or cruisin oer the broad savannah
I know someday she’ll learn to make up her own rhymes
Someday she’s gonna learn how to fly
Oh that I wont deny

Chorus:
I catch a little more dialogue comin my way
I see those big brown eyes just start to lookin astray
Your mothers still the only other woman for me
Little miss magic, what you gonna be?

Yes she loves to ride into town with the top down
Feel that warm breeze on her gentle skin
She is my next of kin

Constantly amazed by the blades of the fan on the ceiling
Those clever little looks she gives just can’t help but be appealing
I know someday shell learn to make up her own rhymes
One day she’s gonna learn how to fly
That I wont deny

Chorus:
I see a little more of me everyday
I feel a little more moustache turning gray
Your mother’s still the only other woman for me
Little miss magic, what you gonna be?
Little miss magic, what you gonna be?
Little miss magic, just can’t wait to see

Its raining, it’s pouring
Your old man is snoring

It all started here, December 20, 2002

We took Laura to the beach with us the summer before she was born.

August 6, 2003

Big brothers checked out all the equipment before she was born.

I bought her this little pink bear at the hospital gift shop the day she was born, and she still sleeps with it 8 years later.

Helping Mom make a grocery list

Angie gives Laura her first haircut.

She spent Christmas Eve 2003 in the same gown that Natalie wore on her first Christmas in 1973.

Laura shares some of her first birthday cake with me.

Playing war games with her brothers

When we moved to our new house in 2005, she didn’t want to sleep in her new bedroom, and spent the next nine months sleeping on
a recliner in our bedroom.

Little Mary Poppins

Kissing mommy

In the shadows with Nolan

Her little pink bear still in tow

You’re all grown up now (or at least it seems that way)

Happy Birthday Laura Kathryn!!!!

I pretty much pulled out all of my lighting gear for this shoot. I did a Joe McNally special on the outside shots, including the cover shot, with several smaller speed lights, then I set up three strobes with beauty dishes, and a spot grid for the inside shots. For the outside shots, I ramped up my shutter speed to darken the background, and then darkened the corners even more in Lightroom. It had just rained that morning, and the overcast skies made it easier to use my lights, because I wasn’t fighting with the sun or shadows.

As a Kentucky deer hunter, I looked forward to making this trip to Owen County, because it’s the deer hunting capital of Kentucky. By the time I left, I had spied eleven deer.

I love doing unique self portraits when I can a canvas outside the box. I shot this at the Licking Valley RECC Annual Meeting, near West Liberty, in May. In addition to scholarships, and a beauty contest, they have a really nice car show. It looks like I really need to lose weight!

I always imagined me in my Powell County uniform, wearing #3 of course, being carried off the field on the shoulders of my teammates after throwing a no-hitter… no, no, a perfect game in the championship. Of course my championship performance would’ve been against one of those big city teams from Louisville or Lexington. My baseball fantasy was always based on a David vs. Goliath scenario. All the while, the ultimate championship songs like We Are The Champions, by Queen, and Don’t Stop Believing, by Journey, would be ringing out through ball park.

I don’t think there has ever been a  kid who was serious about baseball who hasn’t dreamed this dream. And there is an equally impressive fantasy about doing equal major league feats in the World Series, for the Cincinnati Reds of course. Except in that dream, Pete Rose and Johnny Bench, are let onto the field afterwards to personally congratulate me for defeating the Yankees in Game 7.

But in reality, I made it to the state championship, as one of the official photographer’s for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, along with my buddy Jim Osborn. I made it to the state tournament as a 41-year-old who is technically overweight, according to my daughter’s Wii Fit game, and I now have more gray hair than black. I’ve traded my Wilson A-2000 ball glove, which was top shelf during Christmas 1986, in for my Nikon camera and lenses. I traded my cleats and uniform in for a fanny pack full of camera equipment. Darrell and Dustin Billings were in the stands for the championship game and texted me saying I “looked like I was going into combat.” I feel like that sometimes. A photographer’s fanny pack system is like a woman’s purse, you stuff it full of crap, never knowing when you might need something. Preparation is the key to success in my business.

When it was all said and done, two Cinderella teams played for the championship after a week of great baseball. Unfortunately, Mercer County ran out pitching in the 6-day tournament, and got pounded 21-3 by Central Hardin. It felt great to run out on the field with Central Hardin and document their celebration, with Journey and Queen as the house bands.

Whether its a soap opera, a great movie, novel, or yes, even wrestling, the human spirit needs to fantasize and dream about something other than waking up on Monday mornings and going to work, paying bills, and taxes. Photography is good to me. It allows me to live my dreams everyday.

Now they just sit there. Fragments of our of heritage, deteriorating a little more each year. Kentucky is a perfect place for these old houses, because we’re still a state that has more land than population. I enjoy seeing these plank board museums, as I drive by listening to my satellite radio and probably talking on my cell phone. Its a reminder that the old and new can still coexist.

Although I have no emotional or physical ties to these houses, it’s a little sad to think about the livelihood that used to exist within them, and now see the stark contrast with its slow, dilapidating death. But then I remind myself that its all part of the circle of life, and that someday my grand kids will make fun of cell phone and my satellite radio because they were so old fashion.

This is an old house that I see every time I go back to Clay City. It’s at the intersection of Hwy. 89 and Hwy 2001.

She and I have done a lot of soul searching recently on the magic of a marriage and how it disappears over time. If you think about it, magic is usually a poof of smoke or abracadabra that comes and goes quickly. Magic wasn’t meant to be sustained over a period of time. Magic is a fleeting moment, just like a photograph. It comes and goes. John Lennon said it best in the lyrics of the song Beautiful Boy, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Really, if you think about, life itself is what makes a marriage and its also what can destroy a marriage.

Over the last 18 years, really 20 years if you count the time that we dated, there has been lots of magic, and lots of moments. Many times, we didn’t recognize those moments as being magical at the time. It happens that way when you’re in the moment. Magical moments are like good vacations, you need to step away from them a few months later to see how good they really were.

One of my greatest treasures in life are the rocks in our flower garden. We decided from the beginning that rocks were great and cheap souvenirs from our travels. Each time I pull in the driveway, regardless of where I’ve been, regardless if I made money that day or lost my ass on a blown assignment and all the mileage that went with it. I can pull into my driveway and get a glimpse of the rocks that surround my mailbox and my house, and it reminds me that it’s not about a single moment, or a single day, but rather life is about the long haul. Just like mine and Natalie’s marriage.

There are rocks from Tennessee that we collected when she was 8 months pregnant with Nolan. There are lava rocks from when her parents sent us to Hawaii to reward her for graduation with her Masters. There are memories embedded in those rocks of snorkeling Molokini, climbing up to Haleakala, and our unplanned 5-hour-drive, zig zag adventure, around the road to Hana (we were lucky to even make our flight after that trip). There are rocks that we packed out of the Grand Canyon, when we hiked there in the 1990s. And of course there are rocks there from our epic RV trip last year across America.

There are two rocks in particular from that trip that represent our marriage. One is a deep red rock from Arizona and the other is the big rock that she and kids worked on digging out of the snow illegally in the Rocky Mountain National Park, while I was in the car with elevation sickness. These two rocks represent a marriage because of  these reasons: the red rock from Arizona wasn’t meant to be in a rainy climate that Kentucky has had this year, and it’s disintegrating and breaking apart. So I had to move it closer to the house to protect it. It’s not strong enough to stay out in the open. And the Rocky Mountain Rock is tough! It was designed to survive any type of weather.

Mine and Natalie’s lives are like those rocks. There are moments with our kids, that are like the Rocky Mountain Rock, that could survive any weather, under any conditions, 365/24/7. We’d kill for our kids. We relish in our kids, like when Cameron hit a triple to the fence last week in Little League. And when Laura comes up with some bright idea on how to make money with her own business selling brownie cakes, and when Nolan gives us a dissertation on something he learned off the History Channel and then applies it to his real life. And then there are moments like the Arizona rock, that are more tender, and needs more care, like when we put so much time and effort into our kids, and into our careers, that we forget about those moments of infatuation, like when I first met Natalie at the Powell County High School lunch room during her honors banquet in the spring of 1991. We often tend to lose sight of what got us here to begin with. And the weather starts chipping away at us, every time it rains, until eventually we disintegrate! We have learned, although painfully at times, the parts of our marriage that needs protection from the house itself and the parts that can withstand the test of time.

I’ll always be a creative brain. Natalie will always be a math brain, (whose check book is never off by even a penny). I feel good myself as a person if I make through the month without the bank telling me I’m overdrawn…yet again. I ran into yesterday, perhaps the greatest teacher I ever had in college or high school, and although I struggled with every high school algebra class I ever had with Diane Davis, she and I agreed that the world needs people who made straight A’s as well as those people who made D’s.  I’ll always be a photographer who is obsessed with his work, and with high blood pressure, and Natalie will always be the greatest mother in the world. God made her, and designed her to be a mother, from the moment her little brother Brent Douglas was born. God designed her to be a caretaker, to be compassionate, to be understanding, and above all else to be patient in ways that I will never understand or be capable. To me that’s what a marriage is about. It took me many years understand that. Marriage is about love, but it’s also about a partnership between two people who bring both their strengths and weaknesses to the table, and commit to that partnership. God may have designed me to see and help save the world through the lens of a camera, but he also brought me together, as a team with four other people in this world. And without US, or without that TEAM, I’m nobody.

Happy 18th Anniversary, and on June 30th, Happy 20 years together! Rock On.

I went to the 1991 PCHS Honors Banquet to award a scholarship from the Clay City Times,
and met my future wife in her pretty white dress.

This is a photo of Natalie and I while we were dating. Very few people have ever carried my camera bag, but I let her pack it
while we were visiting my Papaw Tojo, a true Eastern Kentucky man, in the Spring of 1992. A fellow photographer, Rob Carr, saw this print later and
said it looked like Natalie was standing in Honduras. After several years of hard work, my parents have turned this farm on Garvin Ridge into
a weekend get-away.

I proposed to Natalie with a half-carrot diamond slid onto half of a carrot. I couldn’t pass the opportunity to insert
a little humor into the moment.

My Graduation from Eastern in 1992.

Natalie’s Graduation from Morehead in 1995.

Our Wedding Day, June 5, 1991, Stanton First Presbyterian Church
(look at all that black hair in my head…geez where did all of it go to?)

The same three kids that stole all of my black hair tried to tell me how to drive to the pawn shop this weekend that used to be Gales Market
back in the day. I said, “we used to live there, I know how to get there!!!”

The birth of Nolan Gale, September 23, 1997

The birth of Cameron Wayne, April 3, 2001

The birth of Laura Kathryn, August 6, 2003

Making babies sure was fun! But maintaining babies wasn’t no fun at all.

Natalie and I have vowed to go back to Hawaii as skinny people and retake this photo.

This was my third trip hiking the Grand Canyon when Natalie got to go with me in 1999. I’ve hiked over 100 miles
in the canyon between 1996 & 1999, and went Rim to Rim in 1999.

Niagra Falls 1995

I’m going to trade in my Guy Club card here with this photo. God gives us these beautiful women as our wives.
And then we tend not to appreciate their bodies after they give us our children.
Stretch marks are signs of character and sacrifice for the children that go on
to ultimately continue our families.

A 2-foot snow storm at our trailer park in Richmond , 1996

Vegas 2007

An elevator in the Downtown Boston Marriott, February 2006

Kelly Wells’ Wedding, sometime 1991…I think…maybe 1992.

Happy Anniversary Nattie!!!!

Growing up, I never did get into or understand horse racing very well. I remember going to my 8th Grade May Dance, in my pearly white John Travolta tuxedo, listening on the radio as Swale won the Kentucky Derby. Later on in life, I started going to Keeneland, treating it more as a cultural event rather than a love of horse racing. Still to this day, there are certain math-minded people in my family, including my wife, who make fun of me because I can’t figure out the betting system. Back to the culture of horse racing…. when I left Eastern in 2004 and ventured out on my own as Tim Webb Photography, I covered my first Derby at Keeneland and its 25, 000 fans, watching Smarty Jones cruise to victory  for the Lexington Herald-Leader. The next year, I covered the first turn at Churchill Downs for the Louisville Courier-Journal. I’ve been there ever since then, from Giacomo in 2005 to Animal Kingdom this year. My greatest moment on the first turn of the Derby came in 2008, when Big Brown came within inches of my camera lens after winning the Derby.

Regardless if you understand horse racing or know how to bet on it, The Kentucky Derby and the sport of racing is a big part of our culture in Kentucky. The Kentucky Derby should be to Kentuckians like Cinco De Mayo is to Mexico, or like Saint Patrick’s Day is to the Irish. It’s not only about the horses, the race, and the culture, such as mint juleps, big hats, sear sucker suits, and the beginning of Spring, it’s about our culture and heritage as Kentuckians. Its our time to shine, when the world is watching us. Celebrities from Jessica Simpson to  Queen Elizabeth come to Kentucky to experience our culture. We should too.

The following photos are from the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Enjoy the Kentucky culture!!!!

The view from the Spires

A buffet in the Jockey Club Suites

Terry Bradshaw

Relaxing in my room on Friday night with Jethro and the gang from NCIS

One of my mentor’s Robb Carr, aka Bobby Lee, with Getty Images in Baltimore, the 1992 author of “Shoot ‘em up Webbie!!!”

Bill Frakes of Sports Illustrated, adjusting one of his many remote cameras.

And where is Animal Kingdom at this point?

At the turn of the other century (the 1900s) there were a number of Italian immigrants who settled in Whitesburg to work in the coal mines and on the railroads that first opened a very isolated Eastern Kentucky. Although they were there for other reasons, they left their mark on the city’s architecture. Many of the old houses and buildings look as if they were lifted out of Italy. One building in particular was built right on the river, reminiscent of Venice.

Along the way (no pun intended) yesterday, I found a city that has come and gone with coal, but is still working hard to maintain its identity.

A barbershop in downtown Whitesburg

I even found a sign with name on it.

The North Fork of the Kentucky River is in the heart of Whitesburg

Italian stone workers who came with the railroad in the early 1900s left their mark on Whitesburg's architecture.

 

A duck flies up stream over the headwaters of the Kentucky River.

The assignment that I was working on was photographing power plants at night for Kentucky Living (coming out in July…I think). I already had my tripod set up for time exposures, so I tried to capture a little bit of the Blackcreek Night. This is a 30 second exposure with the neighbors lights illuminating the hill behind Mom and Dad’s house. It really isn’t all that dark at night.

David Harrison, photo director of the Louisville Courier-Journal

David Stephenson, UK Photojournalism director

Courier-Journal photographer Michael Clevenger strikes a pose in the media pavillion

Lexington Herald-Leader Photographer Mark Cornelison makes final adjustments on his remote cameras

Next to the NBA Finals, the Derby media pavilion is considered one of the nicest accommodations for journalists.

Calvin wins #3

Stuck in the mud!!!

I love this time of year! This is when the world of photography turns its attention from the almighty orange bouncing ball to the moving hooves of the horse. For me, it starts with a few trips to Keeneland, and then the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, seen here, and then on to Louisville tomorrow for Oaks Day and the Kentucky Derby.

Great Britain's Mary King rides Kings Temptress to a first place finish in the jumping portion of the Rolex Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park.

A large, partly international crowd watches the Rolex Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Kentuckian Hannah Sue Burnett, aboard St. Barths, places eighth during the Rolex Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park. Burnett entered the day fifth place.

 

Last year's winner William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain, clears a fence during the jumping portion of the Rolex Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Great Britain's Mary King rides Kings Temptress to a first place finish in the jumping portion of the Rolex Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Great Britain's Mary King, pats Kings Temptress, after winning the Rolex Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park. King was the first rider to ever win first and second places at the Rolex, as her second place horse Fernhill Urco, right, looks on.

I found these flags at a veterans park in Anderson County a couple of months ago. I thought this was an appropriate post after America took out Osama Bin Laden night before. Watching the celebrations on television reminded me of when the Iranian Hostages were freed back in 1980. It had a similar feeling of pride coming on after years of humiliation.

I got a glimpse of God’s power with weather a couple nights ago in Frankfort. There is a message there.

I don’t always get to see a photo assignment come full circle, but I did back in the winter with Commonwealth Legacy Awards, given by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. The Kentucky Chamber celebrates Kentucky with its Commonwealth Legacy Award. It is presented exclusively to individuals, companies or organizations which have demonstrated outstanding leadership and made a profound impact on the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This year the award was being given to two gentlemen in tribute to their vision and leadership; Dr. Pearse Lyons for bringing the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games to Lexington and Mr. Jim Host for making the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville a reality.

In January I did some preliminary photographs with the award, that was created by Kentucky artist Dan Neal Barnes. My photo buddy Chris Radcliffe and I set up a small studio inside Dan’s studio to create the images that were later used for promotion by the Chamber. Then in february I photographed the actual ceremony, where the speakers list included the likes of Wayne Martin, Lonnie Ali, wife of Muhammad Ali, former governors Ernie Fletcher, John Y. Brown, Martha Layne Collins, and Steve and Jane Beshear.

This little girl was peeking out the front door window at me while I was photographing her grandmother in Winchester last week.

I love when color and composition come together in a photograph.

The corrections reform bill received unanimous support in the Senate.

Secretary of Justice and Public Safety J. Michael Brown, right, speaks with Rep. John Tilley about the corrections reform bill that passed the Senate Monday. Tilley sponsored the bill in the House.

Senators Robert Leeper, left, and Tim Shaughnessy, right, talk during a recess, before the Senate unanimously passes the corrections reform bill.

Senate President David Williams spoke from the floor during the Senate's passage of the corrections reform bill.The corrections reform bill received unanimous support in the Senate.

Tom Jensen, who sponsored the corrections reform bill in the Senate, smiles during a recess, before it received unanimous support.

Gov. Steve Beshear signed the bill into law with key members of the House and Senate.

Gov. Beshear signs the bill into law with key legislators and officials who made the bill a reality.

]]> http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/2011/03/16/the-general-assembly/feed/ 1 http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/2011/03/10/the-sacrifice-of-patenthood/ http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/2011/03/10/the-sacrifice-of-patenthood/#comments Thu, 10 Mar 2011 01:32:19 +0000 Administrator http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/2011/03/10/the-sacrifice-of-patenthood/ I often have people who are both parents, and not parents, ask “why would you want to go spend a week walking around Disney World, fighting the crowds?”

The answer is simple. My kids love it!

Being a parent is all about love & sacrifice. That doesn’t mean you have to give up your life as an adult, but your frame of mind changes after having kids. It’s no longer JUST about you.

A few years ago when Natalie’s grandmother died, one of her friends from work came to the funeral home for visitation. The kids asked why did that person come when they never knew “Momaw Crystal.” We told them it was because she came to see Mommy, and because she cared about Mommy.

That story made a really good moral. Too many times in life we do what’s convenient for us instead of doing what’s right for the people around us.

I feel like I’m blessed with the greatest job in the world, or at least Kentucky. I’ll be shooting the Sweet 16 next week when I get back and doing what I enjoy, so taking off a week to do something that makes my kids happy is more than worth it.

The Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces win the girls championship

The 15th Region captures the boys title three years in a row, as Betsy Layne beats Louisville DeSales for the title.

Remember this name, Rebecca Greenwell of Owensboro Catholic is a sophomore who averages over 30 points a game!

Lexington Christian double-teamed Greenwell the entire game and she still scored 16 points.

Laura Kathryn, my onsite editor

The doorbell ringer himself

Jimmy Oz saves me and my shoulder by filling in for me for several games.

We had a great Christmas as always. How can you not have a good Christmas with three kids who believe. We watched A Christmas Story a hundred times as usual, and they finally stood their ground and said no more Polar Express on Christmas Eve! Come on kids, Daddy loves that movie. We kept our new Christmas Day tradition going two years in a row by staying home all day, playing, being lazy, and going to eat Chinese, just like Ralphie and his family. Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra…Ra Ra Ra Ra!

After Christmas Natalie and I headed south to the Smokies for a few days of R&R sans kids. It was really pretty once we got there after being stuck in traffic forever on the interstate.

I brought in the New Years a little differently this year. The boys and I went Coon Hunting for the first time. I won’t mention any names, but a certain cousin of mine that I hunt with a lot, allowed us to get lost in the woods in the middle of the night. Then, shortly before midnight, I remembered that I had a GPS on my iPhone and thought it might be a good time to use it. So we brought in 2011, on a very memorable night, lost somewhere deep in the Carter County woods, between McGlone Creek and Jordan Fork. The only thing that would have made the night more complete would’ve been a little banjo music…ouch!

Finally, on January 8, I got to do something that I never thought I would do. I went to a wrestling match with Cameron and his friend Lee (sorry Jim Chadwick of Stanton, I mean no disrespect to the sport of wrestling, it’s just never been for me). But Cameron, however, loves it, and never misses a Monday or Friday night to watch it. He and Lee even give me verbal and written tests on the super stars of WWE, and they love to test my knowledge of different types of matches and the rules (rules!?! Really????). Anyway, I enjoyed it, and although I like to make fun of it, there is a lot of real pain and athleticism involved.

Well, that’s all I know to write for now Mrs. Whitabird, I’ll do it again when school starts back in August.

Cameron wraps himself for Christmas on the last day of school.

The Stephens grand kids and Uncle Brent

Somewhere near the Kentucky-Tennessee boarder, south of Williamsburg

Downtown Jellico, Tennessee

Stuck for hours on I-75 Southbound. And why? I still don't know.

We had to use four wheel drive to get to our cabin in Sevierville

Slip Slidin' Away

"Look Mom...it even has a fireplace!"

Gimping with my sling, with Nolan and Laura

This little piece of cartilage had been floating around my shoulder for months. So long pain!!!!

It looks like Jupiter, but it's not... it's the inside of my shoulder!

Alberto Del Rio and R-Truth battling out in the Smack Down ring at Rupp Arena..

Cameron and his friends Lee, left, and Chase, right

Cameron and Lee

Three days removed from shoulder surgery, but keeping my promise to Cameron, this was my view most of the night.

Doing things like this reminds me of my age, when I look into the stands and see the parents with their cam corders cheering for sons. These parents were people that I went to school with and played baseball with. I remember our parents doing the same thing at our ball games back in the 80s. I used to go to Morehead and watch Austin’s uncle Alex, who was also #11, play in the 16th Region. It’s funny how it all comes full circle.

If Nolan is my hunter, then Cameron is my athlete. Cameron loves to go to ball games with me. He went with me Sunday and had some great conversations with Austin’s Daddy Roy. The doctor expects to have Roy’s left ear sewn back on any day now.

One of my other favorite landmarks is the little wooden boat dock that sits on Lake Ellerslie, which is located across from Jacobson Park on Richmond Road in Lexington. I was driving into Lexington early this morning and the fog coming off the water was lit up like a Christmas tree by the early morning sun. It was one of those occasions where I passed it up at first, thinking it was too cold to get out of the car. Then I reminded myself as I turned around to go back that great photos seldom happen during ideal weather.

Moonrise on McGlone Creek

Saturday was a blue-sky day

I got an Eight-Point Saturday Morning

Uncle Paul’s Barn

Uncle Paul’s Barn

Nolan is working hard at becoming a good deer hunter.

The Spike decided to run over the hill into Lewis County and reminded us of the old saying
about deer hunting, “the fun ends when you pull the trigger!”

We had a great day on Saturday. I got a doe and an eight-point, and Dad got a spike.

Mamaw Evelyn and Laura

Walking back in for the afternoon

Nolan is not driving on the farm as a 13 year old, it just looks like he is.

Death of a frozen mole

Reading Material

Ray Waits had as much character as his tobacco barn did. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of him, in surroundings that once was Kentucky’s mainstay and is now almost forgotten.

There’s nothing like opening morning, on the second Saturday in November.
I even have dreams during the year about that first day break.

Day break on my Uncle John Fred’s portion of the family farm on McGlone Creek in Carter County.

The sun light spills out of the sky

Even if it hadn’t been opening morning, it was still a beautiful morning to be sitting quietly and peacefully in the woods.

5 a.m. came a little too early for Nolan. Good thing that Daddy has his back.

The Corn girls play a game of Corn Hole

Jerry & Mac McGlone

Laura and Emmy Corn, with Nolan the fire tamer in the background.

Mom and her brother Paul McGlone

Mac with his Daddy Jeff McGlone

Nolan, with Jack & Lisa Corn

Nolan and his .30/.30

One of the most fulfilling assignments that I’ve ever had was with a group of World War II veterans from Kentucky back in October. The Honor Flight program takes vets, totally free of charge, from all over the country, to Washington D.C. to see the World War II, Korean, and Iwo Jima Memorials. Civilians and service men and women came out at all of our stops to thank the men and women who saved the world in 1945. Our World War II vets are leaving us at a fast rate. They were able to defeat Hitler and Tojo, but they can’t escape time.

Just by lucky chance, the University of Louisville LaCrosse team was on the flight back with us from Baltimore after playing Temple. It was such a neat contrast seeing these young girls 19 and 20 years old genuinely taking an interest in these men who are in their late 80s, and even one young man who was 95. But nothing could prepare us for the parade and reception of over a hundred people that awaited us in the Louisville airport when we returned late that night. Words and photographs will fail to do it justice when Kentucky Living runs this article in time for Memorial Day next May.

Flying out of Louisville, bound for Baltimore, then on into DC

I found out that these guys weren't too old to flirt. Actually they were quiet good at it!

A warm reception at the Baltimore airport

The Army Band from nearby Ft. Meade played God Bless America in the Baltimore terminal.

The reception line at the WWII Memorial with a soldier's wife dressed in her throw back dress and gloves.

Cruising around the WWII Memorial

The local servicemen really step up each weekend for the Honor Flight program.

Raising the flag one last time.

Picking up chics in the airport

The men with the U of L LaCrosse Team

The LaCrosse girls were a real treat for the vets!!!

Welcome home!

Back home in Louisville

]]> http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/2010/11/06/keeping-the-lights-on/feed/ 0 http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/2010/11/05/cajun-jockey/ http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/2010/11/05/cajun-jockey/#comments Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:43:02 +0000 Administrator http://timwebbphotography.com/blog/?p=37 Jockey Corey Lanerie of Louisiana, has had a good run at racing this year.
I did these photographs with him one afternoon in October while he was racing at Keeneland.